Pope Benedict XVI Hails Decision to Halt Distribution of Abortion Drug in Italy
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 2, 2010
Rome, Italy (LifeNews.com) — Pope Benedict XVI hailed a decision by two local Italian officials to halt the distribution of the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug in their parts of Italy. According to Italian newspapers, the mifepristone abortion drug was scheduled to be disseminated throughout the country for the first time this week.
But two newly elected Italian regional officials pledged to halt the distribution of the drug, which has killed at least 13 women worldwide and injured more than 1,100 in the United States alone, according to 2006 FDA figures.
Roberto Cota, governor of Piedmonte region, said, according to AKI, that he will make sure hospitals, the only places authorized to distribute the abortion drug, do not get them. He said he hopes the drugs "rot in warehouses."
Pope Benedict XVI, during his Holy Thursday Mass, said, "It is important Christians not accept a wrong that is enshrined in law — for example the killing of innocent unborn children."
Meanwhile, AP reported Monsignor Renato Fisichella, the Vatican’s top bioethics official, said the officials’ move was "in defense of life and therefore it has my praise."
The world may never know how many thousands of women have been injured, or even killed, by the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug. The best guess is 13 women have been killed as a result of the mifepristone abortion pill — with documented cases in the United States, Canada, England, Sweden and France.
But last summer, the maker of the drug in Europe said 29 women have died.
If the information given to the Italian Pharmaceuticals Agency (AIFA) by European abortion drug maker Exelgyn is correct, then more than twice as many women have died from the abortion drug globally than the pro-life community has thought.
According to a report by the Italian news agency ASCA, Exelgyn provided the figure of 29 women dying from the abortion pill to the Italy Ministry of Health, which, in turn, gave the information to the AIFA drug regulatory agency.
Meanwhile, Eugenia Roccella, the sub-secretary of the Italian health office, also reportedly confirmed the figure she received from Exelgyn to L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.
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